


Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees), Parts A-M

by yeahbanging (lackapoosy)



Series: Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees) [1]
Category: Generation Kill
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-28
Updated: 2011-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-25 01:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/270013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lackapoosy/pseuds/yeahbanging
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: Fictional. Not meant to be offensive to anyone. Based on the characters of HBO’s Generation Kill.</p><p>Summary: A series of snapshots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees), Parts A-M

**Author's Note:**

> All the stories are from the same verse, but they aren't in chronological order. And some of them are a little abstract re: the prompts. Much love and gratitude to the team tinychats, who provided a lot of inspiration. Also to Ree, my partner in shipping, thank you for being Sixta. Betaed by Nic (thanks babe).

**  
Anachronism    
**

When Walt moved in with Ray, he didn’t actually bring that much with him. Several boxes of clothes, household items, and personal knick knacks were stacked in Ray’s living room, and they were slowly sorting through the piles of stuff, trying to find the right way to integrate their lives together.

When they got down to the last two boxes, Ray peeled open the cardboard to find them both filled to the top with books. He looked over at Walt, a little confused.

“What, surprised farm boy can read?” Walt teased. He walked over, picked through the top layers, and pulled out a battered looking book with a blue cover, the spine was creased in several places from use. Walt ran his hand over the front.

“This one’s my favourite.” He handed it to Ray, and continued digging.

“No, I just didn’t expect you to have so fucking many. What’s this one about, anyway?” Ray flipped through the book, surprise appearing on his face when he found page after page of beautiful script and colourful illustrations. The story seemed to be classic fairytale, with a knight in silver armour saving a town from a dragon. Ray looked at Walt, his eyes demanding explanation.

“I love that story. It’s about this young man who goes off in search of adventure, and he saves a town, gets the girl. You know how it works.” Walt laughed to himself. “Yeah, when I was little, I wanted to be a knight, just like him. S’why I joined the Marines, actually. Bravery, heroism, all that shit. Don’t laugh.”

“Hasser, that’s…” Ray started, his eyes lingering on the flush that was spreading across Walt’s face.

“Let me guess, really fuckin’ gay?”

“Nah, homes. You just get more adorable by the second, it seems. Stupid hick.” Ray put the book down on the coffee table, and tackled Walt. They fell onto the sofa, limbs everywhere, giggling together. Ray arranged himself on top of Walt, and nuzzled into his neck.

“Sorting your shit is boring. Let’s make out.”

 

 **  
Blemish    
**

They’re stationed in an abandoned cigarette factory for the night, and Walt has disappeared. It takes Ray longer that it should to notice this, but notice he does, and he sets off to try and find him. Ray takes the stairs two at a time, and walks along the corridor where all the offices are. He finds Walt in an old filing room. He’s looking out of a high window, head resting on his folded arms. He doesn’t turn around when Ray comes in.

“You alright, man?” Ray says, walking up behind him. Walt twists around, meeting Ray’s eye. There’s a funny look on his face.

“Yeah,” he says, a frown cutting lines into his forehead. “I’m just worried about the people out there. You saw ‘em today, Ray, they’ve got nothing. We’ve taken away the only form of structure they had, and not replaced it with anything.” He sighs, and turns back to the window. Ray claps his hand awkwardly on Walt’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort. Walt looks at it, and then looks at Ray in amusement. He lets out a quiet laugh.

“Ray. Come on. I came in your mouth like, twelve hours ago. There’s no need to make this uncomfortable.” Walt twists round so that the two men are face to face, close enough to reach out and take.

“Oh yeah? Well in that case…” Ray steps forward, closing the gap between them. This close, he could see the purple bruises where he had marked Walt the night before, half hidden under his collar. “You know that’s a lovely MOPP suit you’ve got on there, Walter.” Ray says, leering at him. “But I bet it would look even better on the floor.”

Walt lets out a laugh, and Ray can see some of the tension leave his face.

“Did you seriously just say that to me?” Ray would worry that he’d gone a bit too far, but the way Walt was all but ripping his suit off him, he didn’t think he needed to be too concerned.

 

 **  
Candid    
**

Walt was trying to find some sellotape in the huge drawer in the kitchen where they threw all the stuff that didn’t have a proper home. Digging around, he moved aside a bunch of takeout menus, and pulled out a film canister. He shook it, and found there was film in it. Walt had no idea when it was from. Next to that, there was the sellotape. He put the film on the counter, making a mental note to take it to be developed at some point.

A week later, the prints came back, and Walt sat down to look through them. He took the pile of photos out of their plastic wallet, and laughed. Judging from the top photo, these were from their housewarming party, which had occurred during Ray’s photography phase. Sure enough, the rest of the pictures were of their friends hanging out in their backyard, drinks in hand. Walt sifted through them, smiling occasionally at a memory.

They were all good, but his favourite one was of him, Ray and Poke. It was one of the three pictures Ray was actually in, when he had let someone else have a turn with the camera. None of them was actually aware they were having their photo taken, but that’s why Walt liked it. He and Poke were talking; or rather Poke was talking at him. Ray was on the outskirts of the conversation, but he was looking at Walt with an unguarded expression that was wildly different from his usual gurning poses. The love on his face made Walt feel like his heart was going to burst. He took a pair of scissors and trimmed the picture down so it would fit in his wallet, a small smile playing on his lips.

 

 **Dashing**  

The sun had been shining when Ray and Walt entered the movie theatre, but in the two hours they were inside, the sky had darkened and to say it was raining would be an understatement. They stood in a huddle with the rest of the group coming out, peering out at the street from under the awning. Ten minutes passed, and the rain showed no signs of letting up.

“Well, this is delightful.” Ray said grumpily. The thunder rolled in the distance. He kicked at Walt’s feet in an effort to amuse himself. Walt frowned at him.

“Fuck it,” Walt said, and grabbed Ray’s hand. He nodded in the direction of their apartment, which was several blocks down the street. “Come on!”

“Dude, what?” The penny dropped. “Are you insane? We’ll get drenched!”

“Run!” Walt yelled, dragging Ray after him as he sped down the street, dodging the larger puddles. They were soaked instantly, water dripping from their hair, and shoes squelching as they became saturated. Ray ran through a particularly deep pool of water on the sidewalk, and cried out in dismay as water swirled around his ankles. Walt burst out laughing at the pissed off expression on Ray’s face, and then Ray grinned back at him. They ran the rest of the way giggling and bumping into each other like children, and when they crashed into the foyer of their building, Ray pinned Walt to the wall by the elevator, and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“You are certifiably insane, Hasser.” Ray said into Walt’s mouth, grinding his hips against Walt. “Upstairs, now.”

 

  
**Expectant**   


One of the worst things about Ray choosing to go to college after they got out of the Corps was the amount of free time he had, Walt decided. Whenever Ray was bored at home and Walt was at work, Ray would start texting him. At first, it would be innocent, like questions about whether or not he needed to take the burgers out of the freezer, but it would always end up filthy.

This time, Walt was in an emergency meeting, because according to various reports the net profit statistics coming in from the east coast were Totally Unacceptable. His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Ray, asking if he’d prefer Rocky Road or Chocolate Brownie ice cream if given the choice. Walt replied with Chocolate Brownie – the obvious answer, in his opinion – and returned his phone to his pocket.

Five minutes later, his phone buzzed again, and Walt knew he was in trouble. Sure enough, when he looked at the message, Ray was describing what he wanted Walt to do him with his tie when he got home in graphic detail. Walt swallowed, and returned his attention to his boss, trying to ignore the throb of arousal.

Following that message, Walt received six more in quick succession detailing exactly how Ray was fucking himself on his fingers, thinking about Walt bending him over the kitchen table. Walt could feel the flush creeping up his neck, and hoped that it was going unnoticed by his colleagues. The second the meeting was dismissed, Walt half walked, half ran to his car and sped home. Ray met him at the door, a satisfied smirk on his face. Walt pushed Ray up against the wall and kissed him hard, all tongue and teeth.

“I’ve been hard for the last hour and a half, thinking about you.” Walt whispered into Ray’s neck, trailing open mouthed kisses and gentle nips down to his collarbone. “Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is, you smug bastard?”

“How ‘bout I put my mouth where your dick is?” Ray said breathlessly, and turned them so that Walt was against the wall, before sinking to his knees. He looked up at Walt, pupils blown, and grinned lazily. Walt’s head fell back against the wall, his eyes fluttering shut as Ray undid his pants, jerked him roughly a few times, then swallowed him down.

 

  
**Finances**   


“I think we should move in together.”

Walt looked up from his paper and cereal to where Ray had entered the kitchen and made his announcement. He was leaning against the counter, arms folded tightly around his waist. He wasn’t quite meeting Walt’s eyes. Walt knew that Ray still had insecurities about their relationship, and was secretly thrilled that Ray had been thinking about it too.

“You do, do you?” Walt said, resting his head on his hand.

“Yes,” Ray said with conviction. “I mean, you spend essentially all your time here, we buy groceries together,” Ray looked at Walt to see him smiling. “And as I am a poor student, to keep renting two separate properties when we only really use one is madness. It would be fiscally responsible of us to move the rest of your shit here and let your place go.”

Walt got up and went over to Ray. He wound his arms around Ray’s waist, and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“Fiscal responsibility, huh? That the only reason you think I should move in?” Walt felt, rather than heard Ray huff out a laugh.

“Sure is, homes. The economy’s pretty shaky, and I for one think any unnecessary expenditure on either of our parts would be a bad move.” Ray brought his hands up to cup Walt’s face. “And perhaps I want to wake up next to you every morning for the foreseeable future, rather than just most.” Walt kissed Ray, tried to put everything he was feeling into it. He was pretty sure he had succeeded when he heard Ray draw in a shaky breath.

“Now get going,” Ray said, moving his hands down to grab Walt’s ass. “You’ve got to go to work, and I’ve got a busy day of doing fuck all ahead of me.”

 

  
**Gingerly**   


Ray follows Walt around the house when he’s bored, trailing after him from room to room as he tidies, or cooks, or just hangs out. Walt was working at his desk in their living room, trying to sift through some data that he had brought home from work. He tried not to do that very often, but sometimes his intray piled up beyond belief. Ray had perched himself on the windowsill, and was off on one of his notorious rants, this one about how soccer moms were the root cause of rising flight prices. He is mid-flow when Walt stands up abruptly, almost upending his chair, and stalks towards the kitchen. Ray hops off the ledge, and follows him, continuing his speech as he goes.

Walt stops short, stress and tension rolling off him in waves. “Ray. Please,” he says through gritted teeth, bringing his arms up. “Can you just shut the fuck up for five fucking seconds? Much as I would love to devote all my attention to you, I have to be a fucking adult and finish consolidating these reports. Okay?”

Ray stops, shock flitting across his features.

“Yeah, man. Sorry,” he says in a small voice, chastised. “I’ll just go hang out in the garden for a little while. Let me know when you’re done, yeah?” He kisses Walt briefly on the cheek, and wanders out, silent. Walt sits back down at his desk, pissed off that he’s pissed off, and resumes his work.

Ray sits on the porch steps, playing with the neighbour’s cat that has wandered over. He scoops her up, and cuddles her to his chest. He’s not used to having to rein himself in around people, and he forgets that sometimes Walt needs quiet.

“I fucked up, Leah. Pissed him off again.” Ray mumbles into the cat’s neck. She gives him a look that clearly says, well of course you did, and Ray grins. “Guess I should go and make it up to him, whaddaya reckon?” Leah purrs, which Ray takes as a yes. Ray puts her down, and walks back into the house. He takes a detour to the kitchen, and pours Walt a cup of coffee, which he brings into the living room and places on the desk.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Rays says, and kisses the top of Walt’s head.

“Nearly done, then I’m all yours. Ray, come here,” Walt pulls Ray round to face him, and drags him in for a kiss. “I’m sorry for yelling.”

“I’m sorry for being an irritating prick when you’re trying to work.” Ray leans in to steal another kiss, then spins Walt round in his chair. He peers over Walt's shoulder at various graphs and flow charts that are spread over the desk. "This looks dull as shit. What d'you want for dinner? I could probably whip something up with what we've got in-" He pauses, taking in Walt's raised eyebrow.

"Or alternatively, we could get pizza." Ray grabs the phone and dials from memory. "The usual, yeah?"

 

  
**Hiatus**   


Walt’s mom had taken the news that actually, her son is a homosexual remarkably well, all things considered. Once she got over the initial shock, she bombarded Walt with questions about his ‘Joshua’, and when exactly she was going to get to meet him.

With Ray’s mom, though, they weren’t so lucky. Ray had told her, and she had threatened to disown him. At least, that’s what Walt assumed had happened, because once Ray had got off the phone, he’d packed a bag and gone straight to the airport. He’d called Walt from the airport, saying that he had to go home and sort some things out, and that he’d call Walt when he got back, before he hung up. He’d sounded distant, and Walt had spent the rest of the day in his apartment, moving listlessly from room to room, unable to ignore the ache in his chest.

He had caved two days later and called Ray’s cell, thinking it was probably safer that calling the landline. But it had gone unanswered, and he didn’t leave a message. He flipped his phone shut, and sat down heavily on the back porch. He could feel the lump in his throat, and tried to will away the tears that were building up before he started crying in earnest.

The next morning, Walt was woken up early by Ray walking his fingers gently up and down his spine. Walt twisted to face him, face crumpled from sleep, struggling against the sheets that were tangled around his legs.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Ray said, bringing his hand up to cup Walt’s cheek. He was propped up on one elbow, still in his shoes and jacket.

“How’d you get in?” Walt asked, trying to shake the haziness of sleep. Ray’s thumb stroked along his cheekbone.

“Dude, please. I’m a recon marine, I could break into a bank vault if I wanted to. Plus, your freakin’ grandma could probably get past that shitty lock.” Walt squinted up at Ray.

“How did it go with your mom?” he asked quietly, hoping that Ray would say what he desperately needed to hear.

“It was not pretty. She seems to be of the opinion that we are sinners of the worst kind, and that it’s people like us that shame the reputation of America.” Ray gave Walt a tired smile. “It got pretty tedious after a while.”

Ray took a deep breath, and continued. “So I told her that I... that I love you and that she needs to be able to deal with it, because I’m not gonna, y’know…” Ray trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. “And then I left. Wanted to see you.”

Walt buried his face in Ray’s chest, inhaling the familiar scent of leather and cigarettes. His heart was pounding, and he could feel Ray’s doing the same, even through several layers of clothing. He pushed Ray down so that he was lying on his back, and crawled on top of him. He kissed Ray hard, not caring about morning breath.

“I love you too, Ray,” he said, voice raw with emotion. “So fucking much.”

 

 **  
I    
**

At some point in their relationship, as happens with all relationships, ‘I’ became ‘we’. Brad is the first one to point it out, when he invited Ray over for Bad Eighties Movie Night, and Ray responded that it should be cool, but he’s was ‘gonna have to see what we’re doing that day’.

“You do realise that you just couple-checked, don’t you Ray?” Brad said with his usual Iceman disdain. “How utterly revolting.”

Ray, however, loves it. He loves that he finally has someone that means enough to him that their lives are shared to this degree. But as much as he loves being with Walt, Ray sometime needs time to be ‘I’ again, to get away and be accountable only to himself for a little while. He usually goes back home to see his mom, or harasses Brad until he offers up his sofa. Walt understands, and every time he gets back Walt is the first person Ray goes to, greets him with a bear hug at the door and holds him close for a while.

 

 **  
Justified    
**

The pizza was finished, the beer had been opened, and Ray and Walt were relaxing on the sofa ready for the evening’s entertainment. Despite their differing tastes in most films and TV, there was one show that they sat down to watch together every week without fail.

“I don’t get how you can prefer Raylan to Tim. Tim’s so awesome! He’s sarcastic and good with a rifle and innuendo. Remind you of anyone?” Ray asked, waggling his eyebrows at Walt.

“Did you just make yourself Tim in this situation? Because that’s fucking insane. Besides, Raylan is like, all cool and composed, isn’t he? And he’s just so competent,” Walt said, looking wistful.

Ray snaps his head round to look at Walt. “Cool and composed? Competent? Jesus, Walt, would you like me to get Brad in here? Call him and ask him if he’d mind _competently_ sticking his di-”

“Shut up, Ray. Don’t be an idiot.” Walt interrupted, not taking his eyes off the screen. Ray sunk back into the sofa cushions, arms folded across his chest. After a minute, Walt glanced at Ray, who was still pouting, although he'd never admit it. Walt put his hand on Ray’s knee, a silent apology.

“Winona’s a total bitch, though, right?” said Walt. Ray snorted, and snuggled slightly into Walt.

“Ohhh yeah. For sure.”

 

  
**Kinetic**   


“Tennis, Walt? Really?” Ray said from the sofa, where he was sprawled, eating peanuts from a bag. Walt was packing the things he needed for his tennis game with Nate into a bag, and trying to ignore Ray.

Walt sighed. “Nate has this game with some work people, and he needed a partner, that’s all. He asked if I would mind, and–”

“Yeah, because he needs someone suitably WASPy to impress his asshole colleagues at the club, and Brad wouldn’t even set foot in that place if Nate gave him a blow job on the hour, every hour, for the rest of their lives.” Ray flicked a peanut into the air, and failed to catch it in his mouth.

“Whatever,” Walt said, paying no attention to Ray’s chatter. “Just be there at five to pick me up, please.” He walked out, and Ray turned his attention back to the TV, continuing to miss his mouth with the peanuts.

As was to be expected, there was fuck all on the television actually worth watching, so by the time four o’clock rolled around, Ray was restless. He decided to go out a bit early, so he could pick up some coffee for Walt before picking him up. He drove to the courts, then went to sit in the bleachers with his coffee so he could watch Walt and Nate finish up their match.

Blowing on his drink to try and cool it, Ray’s eyes gravitated towards Walt. _God, he’s beautiful_ , thought Ray. He watched the muscles in Walt’s thighs tense as he moved around the court. Shaking his head, he tried to focus on the actual game. He couldn’t keep his eyes away from Walt for long, though, and bit his lip as he saw the way Walt was gripping the handle of his racquet. The look of fierce concentration on Walt’s face made Ray’s stomach clench. And oh god, that tongue. 

Ray palmed himself through his jeans, trying to relieve some of the tension, and . When the game was finished, and all the appropriate hands had been shaken, Walt came up to sit next to Ray. He started talking about something, but stopped when he noticed the way that Ray’s mouth was parted slightly, his breathing slightly irregular. Walt’s eyes travelled up over Ray’s face, taking in the flush that stained his cheeks, and his blown pupils. Walt darted his tongue out to lick his lower lip, and Ray inhaled sharply. Looking down to where Ray was straining against his fly, Walt chuckled. He ran his hand up Ray’s thigh, and squeezed.

“Tennis, Ray? Really?” Walt asked, eyes sparkling.

 

 **  
Livid    
**

“You. Did. What?” Brad was sitting across from Ray at his kitchen table, and Ray was sure that the only reason he was still alive was that Brad had already drunk quite a lot, and was winning their poker game.

“Walt and I may or may not have fooled around at your party last week. In your bedroom.” Ray shrugged, and pulled a ‘what are you gonna do?’ face.

“Ray!” Walt said in a high pitched voice, looking scandalised. Nate threw back his head and laughed.

“When did this even happen?” Brad asked, horrified. He was staring at Ray, and any sane person would have stopped talking at this point.

“You asked Walt to go and get more alcohol, because he wasn’t drinking.” Ray paused, and leaned towards Brad. “Well, we already had more beer in the truck, we had planned strategically. I think you should be proud of us, LT. So we used the time that we were supposed to be using to go to the store to, you know, fuck. It’s hardly our fault that your bedroom was the only room that didn’t have people in it, Brad.”

“I specifically remember locking that door, Ray. For a reason. Does that word ‘boundaries’ mean anything to you, you sister-fucking retard? I am going to have to burn everything.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous, we cleaned up.” Ray leaned back in his chair, a smug grin on his face. Brad hid his face in his hands, groaning.

“Could you really not have said no, Walt? Are you that unable to control him?” Brad said through his fingers, turning his attention to Walt. Walt opened his mouth to speak, but Ray cut him off.

“Whoa, Brad. Don’t blame Walt; he’s totally powerless to resist me when I turn on the charm. Pheromones or some shit. You can’t argue with science, homes.”

Brad put his head on the table, and whimpered. Nate looked at him, still giggling, then turned to Ray and Walt. “I think I can safely say that you two are gonna regret using Brad’s bed for your degenerate sex games.” Brad nodded, head still in his arms. “I am assured of this.

 

 **  
Makeshift    
**

About two months after Ray and Walt move in together, Walt’s mom announces that she’s going to pay them a visit. After the initial panic that comes with an impending parental visit subsides, Walt starts making a list of places to take her and people who are under no circumstances allowed to meet her. Brad points out that in any sane world, Ray would be top of that list. Nate laughs, and points out that that isn’t really a viable option. Ray tells Brad to go fuck himself.

“Dude, where’s your mom even gonna sleep?” Ray asks, about an hour before they have to go to the airport.

“She’s gonna sleep in our room. I’m not having my momma come stay and then putting her in a hotel, or on the couch or something.” Walt replies.

“She can’t sleep in there!” Ray squeals. “We have done appalling things to each other in there!”

Walt snorts. “Ray, we’ve done appalling things in every room in this house. Besides, I flipped the mattress and bought new sheets. And all of our stuff is in a box in the attic. Chill out.”

So Ray and Walt were on the couch. Or at least they were, until Ray fell off after Walt tried to turn over. They pulled all the cushions off the couch and arranged them on the floor, then snuggled up together. This was all well and good, until Walt’s pillow fell off the end of their makeshift bed, and Ray’s ass went down one of the cracks between the cushions. They tried to rearrange themselves, banging into bits of furniture and each other, and letting out the occasional grunt.

“Dude, shh! Your mom is totally gonna hear us and think we’re fucking.” Ray whispered.

“That only bothers you because we aren’t, don’t even pretend like you have inhibitions.” Walt replies, and wraps his arms around Ray, pulling him towards him. They lie there for a while, legs tangled together, making out slowly, until they both drift off to sleep.


End file.
